Final Soldier - PC Engine

 

 

Final Soldier - PC Engine (1991)

Developed by Hudson Soft

Published by Hudson Soft

Released in 1991 by Hudson Soft, Final Soldier is the third and not so final entry in the Star Soldier series. The game consists of 7 main stages and two separate caravan scoring modes for tournament competition. The gameplay feels quite similar to it's predecessor Super Star Soldier as well as Compile's Gunhed/Blazing Lazers. Each stage contains 1 or more sub bosses as well as a main boss at the end of each stage. The exception to this rule is the final stage which has multiple appearances of the final boss throughout the level. While the early stages are lacking in overall challenge, the final two stages can prove pretty tricky the first few times around. The story involves the player fighting off an invading alien force that can travel through time as well as space.

 

 

There are 4 main weapon pick ups as well as a secondary missile pickup the player can use throughout the game. Each of these weapons can power up twice, also granting a shield of sorts with each power level. If you get hit your main weapon will power down a level. If your weapon is at the lowest power level when you get hit you will lose a life and all your power ups/options. In the later levels, recovering from such a loss can be quite difficult it certain situations leading a good run into a quick Game Over screen if you're not careful. In any credit after earning the maximum extends you have a limit of 6 lives before seeing the Game Over screen so a difficult recovery can end a run pretty quickly. Each of these pick ups can also be customized in the options menu before starting your run to have different shot patterns. Missiles can be customized to shoot either forward, backward, or homing. There are also "option" pick ups which generally act as options with the game limiting the player to carrying two at a time. These options can be detonated, sacrificing an option to clear the screen of enemies with is especially helpful in busier situations.

For my set up I focused on using the default Vulcan weapon and the homing missiles and this set up was the most effective I came up with for me. For my 1CC run I stuck to this set up for the whole run except when I accidentally picked up the Flame pickup toward the end of the 5th stage. I quickly switched back to Vulcan my first chance though.

 

This was another fun PC Engine STG to clear and was well worth checking out. While the overall challenge is easier then Super Star Soldier and Soldier Blade, it still has some moderately challenging sections toward the end. I also really liked the soundtrack with some favorites being the 2nd stage's music as well as the final stage's music. Perhaps in the future I will spend some time with the caravan modes and see what kind of score I can get.

My final score of my 1CC run.